Red Bull RB8
Sebastian Vettel 2. Mark Webber |debut = 2012 Australian Grand Prix |races = 20 |wins = 7 |Poles = 8 |Fastest Laps = 7 |Constructors' Championships = 1 ( ) |Drivers' Championships = 1 ( , Sebastian Vettel)}}The Red Bull RB8 is a Formula One racing car designed by Red Bull Racing which will compete in the 2012 Formula One season. The car will be driven by reigning World Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel, and Mark Webber, with former Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Buemi filling the role of test driver. The car is expected to be launched online on 6 February. Design Before the start of the season, it was reported that the team were in no hurry to copy the reactive ride-height system developed by Lotus into the design of the RB8. Team principal Christian Horner stated that "things have to work as a package rather than as individual components". The system was later banned by the FIA. Like most 2012-specification cars, the RB8 features a 'stepped-nose' to conform with new regulations to improve safety in the event of a collision with another car. The RB8 features a slot cut into the step of the nose section, although Adrian Newey claimed this has no use other than to aid cooling for the driver. At the 2012 British Grand Prix, the livery featured 25,000 fan-submitted images for Wings For Life Foundation. 'Legality' The legality of the RB8 would become an ongoing theme as the 2012 season progressed. Before the Monaco Grand Prix, several teams complained over the legality of a slot in the rear floor of the RB8. However, Red Bull dismissed claims and pointing out that the hole was within the regulations, as the part in question has been introduced at the Bahrain Grand Prix and had subsequently passed every scruitineering session. Nevertheless, the FIA passed regulation changes before the Canadian Grand Prix that outlawed the use of a hole in the floor, forcing the team to change its design. The team was involved in a second, more serious dispute at the German Grand Prix when FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer referred the team to the race stewards over what he felt was an illegal throttle map. The 2011 season saw teams produce more downforce by programming their engines to force more air through the exhaust and over the diffuser. This practice was banned for 2012, with the regulations dictating the position of the exhaust outlet and requiring teams to observe a linear relationship between the degree to which the throttle was opened and the amount of torque being produced by the car. Red Bull were accused of abusing this relationship in medium-speed corners, allowing their throttle to be more open than it should be for the amount of torque being produced. This would allow more air to flow through the engine and out the exhaust, which was angled to direct exhaust gasses towards the diffuser. Although the effect was less than that created in 2011, Bauer felt that this practice had the potential to produce more downforce, and even serve as a rudimentary form of traction control if applied under certain conditions. The race stewards cleared Red Bull of any wrongdoing, stating that the team had not broken any of the rules, and the team was permitted to start the race. However, the FIA passed further regulation changes ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, once again forcing Red Bull to make changes to their car. The third dispute came less than a week later, as the teams prepared to race in Hungary. Red Bull were accused of having illegally made changes to the ride height of their car while under parc fermé conditions at the Canadian Grand Prix after the FIA asked them to make changes to the RB8. The technical regulations at the time dictated that any adjustments to the ride height of the car must be made with the use of a tool, but the FIA had requested that the team change a part of the car that would enable them to change the front ride height by hand. Team principal Christian Horner admitted that the team had been asked to change the offending part, but denied that the team had illegally changed the front ride height of their cars after qualifying for the race. Technical specifications Gallery F1-2012-bahrain-vettel-raikkonen.jpg|Vettel at the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix Complete Formula One results (key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as they had completed greater than 90% of the race distance. Category:2012 Cars Category:Cars Category:Red Bull Cars